Jean-Charles-Julien Luce de Lancival (28 April 1764 – 17 August 1810). was an 18th–19th-century French poet and playwright.

Biography

Luce Lancival made brilliant studies at the Louis-le-Grand college and was appointed professor of

rhetoric Rhetoric () is the art of persuasion, which along with grammar and logic (or dialectic), is one of the three ancient arts of discourse. Rhetoric aims to study the techniques writers or speakers utilize to inform, persuade, or motivate parti ...

at the

college of Navarre The College of Navarre (french: Collège de Navarre) was one of the colleges of the historic University of Paris, rivaling the Sorbonne and renowned for its library. History It was founded by Queen Joan I of Navarre in 1305, who provided for thr ...

aged just 22 years (1786). The following year, under the influence of a disappointment in love, he left teaching and took orders. He was noted for his preaching talents. At the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

, he broke his vows and turned to theater. Around 1797, he was in charge of

French literature French literature () generally speaking, is literature written in the French language, particularly by citizens of France; it may also refer to literature written by people living in France who speak traditional languages of France other than Fr ...

at the French Prytanée, former Louis-le-Grand college. He remained professor of rhetoric at the Imperial High School at the time of the reorganization of the University. He was then called to the Latin poetry chair at the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

. In 1805, he gave his poem in six songs ''Achille à Scyros'', his best known work. Imitated from the ''

Achilleid The ''Achilleid'' ( la, Achilleis) is an unfinished epic poem by Publius Papinius Statius that was intended to present the life of Achilles from his youth to his death at Troy. Only about one and a half books (1,127 dactylic hexameters) were comp ...

'' by

Statius Publius Papinius Statius (Greek: Πόπλιος Παπίνιος Στάτιος; ; ) was a Greco-Roman poet of the 1st century CE. His surviving Latin poetry includes an epic in twelve books, the ''Thebaid''; a collection of occasional poetry, ...

, it is a book written with care, which includes interesting and ingenious features descriptions, even if the whole lacks of movement and relieves some boredom. In theater, Luce Lancival won his greatest success shortly before his death, with his tragedy ''Hector'', shown in 1809 at the Comédie française. On a topic drawn from the ''

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odysse ...

'', the play caused a sensation with a character judged by the very contemporary faithful to the spirit of ancient Greece.

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

rewarded the author by giving him a pension of 6,000

French franc The franc (, ; sign: F or Fr), also commonly distinguished as the (FF), was a currency of France. Between 1360 and 1641, it was the name of coins worth 1 livre tournois and it remained in common parlance as a term for this amount of money. It w ...

s. His love of life, pushed to debauchery, was famous in his time. He was to lose a leg in an accident and used a wooden substitute. Despite this weakness and failing health, he committed himself with great dedication to the teaching of literature and was an outstanding educator.

Stendhal Marie-Henri Beyle (; 23 January 1783 – 23 March 1842), better known by his pen name Stendhal (, ; ), was a 19th-century French writer. Best known for the novels ''Le Rouge et le Noir'' (''The Red and the Black'', 1830) and ''La Chartreuse de P ...

wrote "Luce Lancival had a wooden leg and kindness". His early death was caused by syphilis.Alfred Doneaud Du Plan, "Étude sur Luce de Lanval", in ''Mémoires de la Société académique des sciences, arts, belles-lettres, agriculture & industrie de Saint-Quentin'', Saint-Quentin, Imprimerie Ch. Poette, série 4e, t. iii, 1880, pp. 311-43.

Works

*1784: ''De Pace'', Latin poem *1784: ''Poème sur le globe'' *1794: ''Hormisdas'', three-act tragedy, non presented *1794: ''Mucius Scaevola'', three-act tragedy *unpublished ''Archibal'', three-act tragedy, unpublished *1797: ''Fernandez'', three-act tragedy *1798: ''Périandre'', five-act tragedy *1802: ''Ode sur le rob anti-syphilitique du citoyen B. Laffecteur'' *1805: ''Achille à Scyros'', poem in six songs *1809: ''Hector'', five-act tragedy given at the

Comédie-Française The Comédie-Française () or Théâtre-Français () is one of the few state theatres in France. Founded in 1680, it is the oldest active theatre company in the world. Established as a French state-controlled entity in 1995, it is the only state ...

2 February *1812: ''Folliculus'', satire in four chants against the critic

Julien Louis Geoffroy Julien Louis Geoffroy (17 August 1743 – 27 February 1814) was a French literary critic. He was born at Rennes, and educated there and at the Collège Louis le Grand in Paris. He took orders and for some time was a mere usher, eventually becom ...

* ''Le Lord impromptu'', four-act comedy in verse, from a novel by

Jacques Cazotte Jacques Cazotte (; 17 October 1719 – 25 September 1792) was a French author. Life Born in Dijon, he was educated by the Jesuits. Cazotte then worked for the French Ministry of the Marine and at the age of 27 he obtained a public office at Mar ...

References

External links

Jean-Charles-Julien Luce de Lancival
on data.bnf.fr
His plays
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CESAR
{{DEFAULTSORT:Luce de Lancival, Jean-Charles-Julien People from Aisne 1764 births 1810 deaths 18th-century French poets 18th-century French male writers 19th-century French poets 18th-century French dramatists and playwrights 19th-century French dramatists and playwrights